zr364xx driver is included in the Linux kernel mainline since version 2.6.22

If you are lucky you just need to run "modprobe zr364xx" and start using your camera with an application like Ekiga.

If not, you should download the latest kernel source, and build it with the support for this driver.
The module is called zr364xx, and the option "CONFIG_USB_ZR364XX" to enable is located under:
Device Drivers > Multimedia devices > Video capture adapters > V4L USB devices > USB ZR364XX Camera support.

The latest code is kindly hosted by the LinuxTV project: http://linuxtv.org/hg/~ajacquet/v4l-dvb/
You can send me contributions by email.

Please note the following is not maintained anymore.

V4L2 version : zr364xx-0.71.tar.gz
V4L1 version : zr364xx-0.64-fix1.tar.gz

Old changelog : see the changes
Todo and wishlist : Wiki
Forum : phpBB

Supported devices (not updated) : http://www.qbik.ch/usb/devices/showdevcat.php?w=d&id=55 (more webcams in the spca5xx list)


This module is compatible with the Video for Linux API 2 (v4l2) in order to be usable in common applications.
It has been tested with :

• Ekiga
• to capture a single image, try this: dd if=/dev/video0 of=test.jpg bs=1M count=1

Since v4l1 API is now deprecated, zr364xx has switched to v4l2 API since version 0.70.
So zr364xx is not compatible anymore with some old software (xawtv, effectv, ...) until they switch to v4l2 too.

The module is heavily inspired by the file "usb-skeleton.c", "vicam.c" and "spca50x.c".


The camera seen in Ekiga!

If you just want to get on your PC the pictures and movies on the camera, you need to use the usb-storage module.

Maybe this code can work for other JPEG/USB cams based on the Coach chips from Zoran?
Possible chipsets are : ZR36430 (ZR36430BGC) and maybe ZR36431, ZR36440, ZR36442...
You can try the experience changing the vendor/product ID values (look at the source code).
You can get these values by looking at /var/log/messages when you plug your camera, or by typing : cat /proc/bus/usb/devices.
If you manage to use your cam with this code, you can send me a mail (royale@zerezo.com) with the name of your cam and a patch if needed...

For others Aiptek webcams, you should try the spca50x driver : http://mxhaard.free.fr/.
I would like to thanks Michel Xhaard for his help and support.

There is another project that also supports cameras based on this chipset using another technique : http://www.harmwal.nl/pccam880/.

The lsusb command outputs : Zoran Microelectronics, Ltd

You can read the history of this driver here.